Chinese search giant posed European domain name challenge

Baidu.eu is owned by a Dutch-based web design company, which is also called Baidu.

The Dutch Baidu said it was selling the names as a result of the growth of the Chinese search engine, which in 2008 became the first Chinese company to enter the Nasdaq 100 index.

In a release the web design company said it was already in talks with a number of parties including "a Brazilian-based internet company, an American adult porn search engine and a Thai search engine."

It has also resorted to an attempt to auction the domain name on eBay with a starting bid of $250,000. The auction, which has not yet attracted any bids, is set to end on 19 December.

In addition to baidu.eu the lot contains 15 other Baidu-related domains, a Baidu twitter account and a collection of Baidu trademarks.

It does not include baidu.co.uk, which is owned by a third party, Ian Westle, and diverts to an ink cartridge e-commerce site.

The bad news is Baidu Inc could be forced to buy the names to avoid becoming confused with either competitors or pornography. The good news for the Chinese company is the names all come under one package, so it only has to bid once.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com